Printing telegraph apparatus



May 21, 1940.

PRINTING TELEGI ZAPH APPARATUS Filed Jan. 25, 1938 77? PE PR/N TER INVENTOR Ahmad flflazfiz'rzcloms, BY

www. MM,

ATTORNEYS s. s. AUCH'INICL'OVSS 2,201,641

Patented May 21, 1940 UNITED STATES 2,201,641 PRINTING TELEGRAPH APPARATUS Samuel S. Auchincloss, Darien, Conn, assignor to New York Quotation Company, New York, N. Y;, a corporation of New York Application January 25, 1938, Serial No. 186,779

1 Claim.

This invention relates to tape pulling devices for use with printing telegraph devices, such as;

for example, stock tickers, to draw the tape with.

uniform motion through a projector whereby the 5 marking on the tape may be projected on a screen.

device and therefore are not as directly responsive to cessation of signals as is to be desired. Furthermore, such constructions are unnecessarily complicated because they must include additional switch means and a mechanism actuated by the ticker for controlling the switch, as well as means for minimizing the jump of the tape so that the projected signals move smoothly.

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a tape pulling mechanism which is directly responsive in its operation to the printing signals received at the ticker and which insures smooth movement of the tape without requiring special equipment for that purpose.

v Another object of the invention is to provide a tape pulling mechanism which may be utilized with a conventional ticker without requiring .eX- tensive reorganization or reconstruction of the ticker.

.30 An additional object of the invention is to provide-a tape pulling device that is controlled by a relay connected to the transmission-lines, said relay normally being utilized to control the turning on and off of the ticker motor in response to signals on the transmission lines.

Stock or news tickers consist generally of a selector mechanism, a printing mechanism and motors for actuating the printing mechanism. A suitable relay is usually provided for controlling the operation of the ticker, said relay being responsive to the signals on the transmission line. The signals consist of a series of related marking and spacing impulses, which, because of their order, cause selection and printing of the proper 5 character on the tape which passes through the ticker. When no characters are being transmitted, only spacing impulses are received at the ticker.

of this system of signalling in controlling oper- -5 ation of the tape pulling mechanism.

' 55 tinuously but which maybe disconnected from are received at the ticker.

tape may be projected on a screen 20.

The present invention takes advantage the roller when spacing signals, only, are received by the ticker. The means for disconnecting'the roller and the motor may be a clutch of any 'desired type, but preferably one which is electrically or magnetically actuated. Operation of the '6 clutch is controlled through a switch or relay which is directly responsive to the signals transmitted to the ticker from a main transmitter. The switch or relay is preferably directly connected to the transmission lines and controls their!!! motor of the ticker through suitable relays and electrical connections. The control relay 'or switch, therefore, is directly responsive to the printing and spacing impulses transmitted to the ticker and is arranged and connected to the clutch in such a way that-the clutch is normally engaged during printing andspacing impulses of normal signalling duration,- but causes disconnection of the clutch when only spacing'impulses For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary diagrammatic illustration of one form of the invention; and

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary-view of a detail of the tape pulling mechanism with the electrical circuit shown diagrammatically.

The form of the invention illustrated in the drawing consists generally of a ticker IU of con- G30 ventional construction'which is illustrated diagrammatically as consisting of a tape feed reel [2, a printing-wheel l4, and an idler wheel I6. Associated with the ticker I 0 is a projector IS through which the printed tape'is drawn and 635 by means of which the charactersprinted on the A tape pulling roller 22 and'a pressure roll 24 are'provided for drawing the tape from the ticker through the projector. A tape take-up reel 26 may also be provided and may be driven by means of a slip'belt 28 which connects the reel'ZS with the tape pulling roller 22. As illustrated, the

projector i8 is spacedat some distance from the ticker ill but it will be understoodthat the pro-r jector l8 may be placed closely adjacent theticker Hi if so desired, in order that there will be only a slight lag between printing'the characters-on the tape and projecting them on the screen 20.

The tape pulling roller 22 is drivenby'meansnm of a worm 3!! and worm gear 32 which are actuated by an electric motor 34. The motor 34 is adapted to be run continuously during operation of the ticker "l0 and during theperio'dswvhen no signalling impulses are transmitted to the ticker.

As illustrated, the motor 34 may be connected through suitable connections 38 to a source of electrical energy 40 and may be regulated as to speed by means of a rheostat 42 or other speed controlling means. If desired, the motor 34 may be connected in the same circuit as the motor (not shown) of the ticker [0, whereby when the ticker is placed in operation the motor 34 will also be energized.

The tape pulling roller 22; as indicated above, is actuated by the motor 34 during operation of the ticker and is so connected to the motor 34 that, during the intervals when no printing impulses are received by the ticker, the feed roller 22 may be disconnected'from the motor 34 in order that the tape can remain stationary. As best shown in Figure 2, the means for disconnecting the tape pulling roller 22 from the motor 34 consists of a clutch having two clutch members 44 and 46. The clutch member 44 is fixed to the motor shaft 48 and is rotated by the motor. The, clutch member 46 is non-rotatably connected to a shaft 56 which carries the worm 30. The clutch member 46 is arranged to slide toward and from the clutch member 44 through the medium of a pin and slot connection 52 between a sleeve 54 on the clutch member 46 and the shaft 50. The sleeve 54 is provided with a pair of spaced flanges 56 between which is received one end of a bell crank 58 which is urged in a counter-clockwise direction by a spring 60. The spring bias on the bell crank 58 tends to normally hold the clutch members 44 and 46 in engagement. I The clutch member 46 may be moved out of engagement with the clutch member 44 by means of a solenoid 62, which is energized by a suitable source of electrical energy under the control of a relay 64.

Tickers of known type are provided with motor control relays which are connected into the transmission lines between the ticker and the main transmitting station, whereby upon trans- 'the relay 64 consists of a coil 66 connected by suitable electrical connections to the transmission lines between ticker andthe transmitter. One contact 68 and one end of the relay armature 70 are-connected through suitable switches to the ticker motor relay. Another contact 12 and one end of the relay armature 10 are connected through suitable electrical connections 14 and 16, respectively, to a source of electrical energy 18 and the coil 86 of a slow response relay 82 of any desired type so that it will not respond directly to movements of the armature 10 of relay 64. For example, a piece of copper may be placed in the field of coil 80 to'decrease the magnetic field. With this arrangement, when a printing signal is received in the relay, the relay armature 76 will swing into electrical contact with the contact 68. Spacing impulses cause the relay armature 10 to swing into electrical contact with the contact 12, thus completing a circuit through the source of electrical energy 18 and the relay coil 80, thereby energizing the latter. The solenoid 62 is electrically connected to a fixed contact 84 and a movable armature 86 which cooperate with the coil 80 of the relay and upon prolonged energization of the coil 80 are brought into electrical contact to allow a source of electrical energy 88 to energize the solenoid 62 and disengage the clutch elements 44 and 46.

In operation, and during transmission of signals to the ticker, the relay armature 10 will flutter between contacts 68 and 12 of the relay 64 in accordance with the order of transmission of printing and spacing impulses. Since these impulses are of short duration, the slow response relay 82 will not be actuated to energize the solenoid 62. When signal transmission ceases and only spacing impulses are transmitted to the relay 64, the relay armature will be drawn into and maintained in contact with the contact 12 thereby energizing the relay coil 80 sufficiently to bring armature 86 into contact with the fixed contact 84, thus energizing the solenoid 62 and shifting the clutch member 46 out of engagement with the clutch member 44. When signals consisting of related printing and spacing impulses are again received by the relay 64, the relay 82 will again be deenergized, the armature 86 disengaged from the contact 84 and the clutch members 44 and 46 will reengage.

It will be seen that I have produced a tape pulling mechanism which is responsive to the impulses on the transmission line and therefore allows very close coordination between the tape pulling mechanism and the ticker. vals between stoppage of the motor 34 and stoppage of the ticker 16 are thus avoided with my improved construction, and the tape moves smoothly in consequence.

It will be understood that the relationship and mechanical construction of various parts of the clutch mechanism and the relay may be altered as desired, so long as the basic concept of this invention is preserved. Therefore, the form of the invention disclosed in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing should be considered as illustrative only and not as limiting the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

In a projection device for a printing telegraph apparatus having a signal-actuated relay for controlling a motor in said apparatus, said relay having an armature and a normally unused contact that engage in response to cessation of the signal impulses, the combination of a tapepulling means, a continuously running motor for driving the tape-pulling means, a normally engaged clutch connecting the motor to the tapepulling means, electromagnetic means for disengaging the clutch, a second relay having normally open contacts electrically connected to a source of electrical energy and said electromagnetic means, means electrically connecting said contact and said armature of said signal-actuated relay and said second relay, whereby upon cessation of signal impulses the contacts of said second relay are closed and the electromagnetic means is energized to disengage said clutch, and

electrical means associated with said second relay for delaying closing of the contacts and delaying energization of said electromagnetic means over intervals of predetermined duration.

.sAMUEL s. AUCHINCLOSS.

Long inter- 

